Tancred’s ‘Something Else’, featuring Potty Mouth, is sweet, unpretentious alt-rock with a personally-oriented approach. Behind a fun, well-made music video, this group has a solid, if not kind of derivative, take on modern trends in the genre. The simple, lo-fi bedroom pop these women are going for is deeply reminiscent of Soccer Mommy. There’s a clear sense of the group as focused on social justice and female empowerment, but this is couched in a more personally-oriented, poppy lyrical sensibility that seems in debt to 2000s indie groups like Death Cab For Cutie and The Strokes. The broad, vaguely feminist aesthetic can be traced through more recent pop figures like Hayley Williams of Paramore back to Avril Lavigne and maybe even characters like Missy Elliott or Lauryn Hill. Anyways, this is a neat track from an up-and-coming band. Check out ‘Something Else’
“Something Else” is taken from Tancred’s new album, Nightstand, which came out June 1st, 2018.
“I’m a loser sometimes / I will lose my mind sometimes,” Jess Abbott sings on “Clipping,” the shimmering, tambourine-inflected centerpiece of Tancred’s new album, Nightstand. After the themes of self-empowerment and self-possession Abbott explored on 2016’s Out of the Garden, these lines can at first seem like a bit of a worrisome relapse. And in a way, they do speak to an unexpected revelation Abbott experienced following her transformation into a more confident person.
“After I became comfortable in this new skin, in truly being myself, I was immediately hit with loneliness,” she reveals. “I realized that human connection is really important to me.” And so Jess Abbott began a new journey of personal exploration, one that involved connecting with other people just as much as connecting with herself. “I was reading a lot of books, learning a lot of new hobbies, meeting so many new people — just taking in as much information as possible to try and figure out what it really meant to me to be alive,” she recalls.
History is replete with such quests for the meaning of life, and with Nightstand, Abbott sought to tell her story in a way that would both connect with the past and resonate in the future. “I wanted the album to have a timeless feel to it, so you could hear my stories of love and loneliness and sense that these are themes that have existed for everyone forever,” she says.
As with her previous work, the writing process for what would become Nightstand consisted of Abbott alone in her room with just a guitar, strumming chords and singing words until gradually songs began to coalesce. As a result, when the recording process began with Lewis Pesacov (Best Coast, Generationals) at his home studio in LA, the focus was less on finishing songs and more on perfecting them. Working with Pesacov offered new approaches – and gear – previously undiscovered by Abbott, affording her avenues of exploration that dialed in the production and tone on each and every song.
The positive effects of this nourishing environment are evident throughout Nightstand, as on propulsive first single “Reviews,” showcasing Abbott’s strong melodic sensibilities balanced with purposeful, well-placed instrumentation. Or “Queen of New York,” which captures the feelings of fleeting lust set against a metropolitan backdrop, all within an effervescent three-minute bop.
Of course, it wouldn’t truly be a Tancred album if the upbeat melodies didn’t also serve to sugarcoat Abbott’s often somber lyrics about the experience of being a woman and being queer in today’s society. But even she is quick to emphasize that there is still comfort to be found during times of isolation or alienation: “Ultimately, we are all feeling these things together, and that can be enough to feel less alone. There’s a hopefulness in the loneliness.”
Jess Abbott can write a booming melody that cuts through a wash of guitars, screaming her insecurities to the beat of a chugging drum kit. As Tancred, Abbott sheds the atmospheric tendencies of her former band Now, Now for straightforward guitar rock, as evidenced on 2016’s Out of the Garden, a confident reckoning of personal identity.
For Abbott’s forthcoming album Nightstand, she takes a different approach,
This new album takes a step back from the energy of my last album to bring in a little more vulnerability. I wanted to reconnect with myself and these songs document that process. “Reviews” felt like the right first single because it holds some of that same propulsion the last album had, but also opens a secret door into a more introspective vibe present throughout Nightstand. It’s a deeply personal song for me and I’m happy I can finally share it.
“Reviews” balances an effects-laden, electric guitar that rackets around like an abused pinball in an arcade game alongside a guzzling bass line. But Abbott has also demonstrated a burgeoning knack for pop melodies, which is in full swing on this track.
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